Gotzon
Gotzon was a Faithful of the Road of Heaven during the Dark Ages. A former Abyss Mystic, he vowed to never use his power over shadows and living darkness again. An eerie figure favored by the Lasombra Antediluvian, Gotzon's abilities were more than enough to send shivers down the spine of many luminaries of his time – such as his longtime rival and friend Hardestadt. Biography Gotzon was a priest and deemed a crusader of the Lord by his peers (some would even call him an "inquisitor"). In truth his crusades were many. If asked, he would probably say only that he does the Lord's work, but the manner of work that God demands is bloody indeed. Pagans, heretics, even demons and infernalists – all have fallen before him. Gotzon never answered direct questions about his plans and trusted in God to direct him in all things. Hardestadt and Gotzon were longtime companions during the Dark Medieval when they met a young knight named Jürgen von Verden. Both Cainites wanted to Embrace the promising mortal, but could not reach an understanding about which of them was better suited to bestow the curse of Caine upon him. Eventually, the pair decided it would be up to Jürgen himself to choose whether he would do God's work through Gotzon's teachings on the Road of Heaven, or throw himself in the path of glory through the Road of Kings, favored by the Ventrue Hardestadt. Jürgen would have to decide between the crown or the cross, and although Gotzon was confident he would choose the latter, that did not come to pass. The knight wanted to be a conqueror, even if he rationalized that by doing so he was actually serving God's will. Gotzon was deeply disappointed by the outcome of events, but acquiesced nonetheless. He had not given up on his protégé, however, and followed Jürgen in his adventures acting as his confessor, patiently trying to convert the Scion to the Via Caeli. Appearance Gotzon's eyes were lifeless. Not dead or even empty, but lifeless, like seawater at night. The darkness around him was not empty, and that horrified others. Some would even dare say that his faith is so strong because he knows what is waiting in the dark. He was obviously a powerful Abyssal Mystic, and although he never used his abilities of Obtenebration, his shadows showed terrifying signs when he was not fully alert. To Jürgen, Gotzon was something more than a Cainite; the shadows to which he had dedicated untold centuries had made a hornet's nest of his undead body. The man actually bled blackness, as Jürgen had once been unfortunate enough to see. Gotzon was always reticent, saying only what he needed to say, and to Jürgen it had always seemed that Gotzon was careful because the blackness inside him was merely waiting for the right word, the right gesture, to facilitate its escape. Generation Gotzon once said that a word from him could blot out the sun, and Jürgen suspected he had something to do with an eclipse that happened after his Embrace. Jürgen later tapped into Gotzon's memories and saw an assembly of Lasombra electing him to learn the terrifying ritual Cry That Slays Light. If that vision was true, Gotzon would be at least a 5th-generation vampire. According to Darkening Sky, Gotzon indeed was the key figure in the ritual. The eclipse was a worldwide event that affected vampires everywhere. It forced some elders to wake from torpor, such as The Visigoth. The nature of the ritual, however, caused Gotzon to forgot his involvement in the eclipse, meaning that the true reason of it is unknown, even to him. References * * Category:Lasombra Category:Vampires of unknown generation Category:Vampire: The Dark Ages characters